


Caress

by Ilovecastiel18



Category: Good Omens (TV), Good Omens - Neil Gaiman & Terry Pratchett
Genre: Angst, Crying, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Forehead Kisses, Hugs, Hurt/Comfort, Ineffable Husbands (Good Omens), Ineffable Idiots (Good Omens), Love, Love Confessions, Men Crying, Other, Touch-Starved, Touching
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-15
Updated: 2021-02-15
Packaged: 2021-03-17 14:01:41
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,427
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29472909
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ilovecastiel18/pseuds/Ilovecastiel18
Summary: A few days after the apocalypse. Crowley flinches when Aziraphale accidently brushes against him. He finds out that the demon is touch-starved. He tries to find out why, and tries to help Crowley through it. Hurt/comfort, angst, fluff, love confessions. One-Shot.
Relationships: Aziraphale & Crowley (Good Omens), Aziraphale/Crowley (Good Omens)
Comments: 8
Kudos: 74





	Caress

**Author's Note:**

> At this point, I’m just going through my list of fanfiction ideas and blasting them out, because I’m bored and motivated to write, which doesn’t happen very often anymore. This is my fourth fic of the day, so bear with any accidently mistakes that I may make (I’m a very fast typer). I just wrote a similar fic for Broadchurch, and felt a strong desire to write one for Good Omens too, so here it is! If you like this story, please consider leaving a kind review, those always help motivate me to write more stories! Thanks for reading!

**Disclaimer:** Good Omens, along with its characters, locations, etc. are the property of Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett. If I owned the rights to it, I wouldn’t still be desperate to meet the man that I absolutely ADORE: David Tennant.

……….

Caress

……….

It had only been a few days since Crowley and Aziraphale had helped avert the apocalypse (and fooled Heaven and Hell into leaving them alone for the foreseeable future), and they were still recovering from the emotional toll that the events had taken on them. Crowley had spent most of the time asleep on the sofa in the back room of the bookshop, while Aziraphale had been sipping cocoa and reading in one of the armchairs, watching over Crowley as he slept. He knew, objectively, that Crowley was safe, and even if he wasn’t, he could take care of himself, but he watched over him nonetheless. The apocalypse had taken an immense toll on his mental health, and he knew that he would fret over Crowley constantly if they were not in the same room.

After a few days, Crowley woke up groggily from his nap, stretching his arms over his head and arching his back like a cat. Or, more like a snake. Crowley yawned noisily and sat up from his perch, looking over at Aziraphale with bleary eyes. He looked down at his watch and raised his eyebrows.

“Angel, shouldn’t you be up at the cash register right now? The shop is usually open at this time.” He asked, yawning widely.

“I felt it best not to open the shop for a few days. I… need some time to recover from the events of the last few days.” Aziraphale answered quietly. He carefully bookmarked his novel and set it aside, moving to sit next to Crowley. When he walked past the demon to reach the other end of the sofa, their legs brushed, causing Crowley to flinch away violently.

“Crowley, are you alright?” Aziraphale asked, sitting next to the demon with a few inches between them.

“M’fine, Aziraphale. You just startled me.” Crowley answered shortly. He was looking down at the floor.

“You knew I was coming over here, though. How could I have startled you?” Aziraphale questioned. He wanted to move closer to Crowley, but he wasn’t sure how welcome he would be.

“I don’t know, angel. I’m fine, you can drop it.”

“I don’t believe you.” Aziraphale went to reach out and touch Crowley’s shoulder, but he moved away. “Do you not like to be touched, dear?” he asked quietly. He would always respect Crowley’s boundaries, he just wanted to know what they were.

Crowley sighed and scrubbed a hand down his face. “It’s not so much that I don’t like to be touched, it’s just… I haven’t been touched in a comforting way since I was an angel. The only time I am ever touched is when I am brushing shoulders with demons in Hell, or when I am being punished by demons in Hell. Anytime I am touched, I fear for the worst. I guess my body has caught up with my fear, and tries to avoid being touched at all costs. I know you would never intentionally hurt me, Aziraphale. I’m sorry if you thought that when I flinched.” Crowley had decided to lay out the truth, allowing the angel to interpret it however he wanted to.

Aziraphale struggled against reaching out and taking Crowley’s hand.

“I… I am so sorry that you have never been comforted by anybody, Crowley. I feel this is partially my fault; I have never treated you like a friend, and have never been there when you needed me. But I’m here now. Whatever you need, whatever you want. If you want to try to work through this, I will be here for you. If you simply do not want to be touched, I will respect that too. I will do anything you need, dear.” Aziraphale replied. He scooted closer to Crowley on the sofa, making sure to keep a few inches of distance between them. “Can… can I take your hand?” he whispered.

Crowley was still looking down at the floor, refusing to look up at the angel. He nodded his head minutely, fighting back against tears that were forming behind his eyes. He wished he had his sunglasses on, but he couldn’t get them and slide them onto his face without giving anything away.

Crowley felt Aziraphale’s hand brush over his own, and fought the urge to flinch away. After a moment, Aziraphale carefully turned Crowley’s hand over and fitted their palms together, gripping the demon’s thin hand loosely.

“We can stop here if you need to, Crowley. Or we could try to work out way to something else. I want to be here for you.” Aziraphale said, his voice tight.

Crowley forced himself to turn and look at Aziraphale. “I know, angel… thank you. I just need a minute.” Crowley looked down at their clasped hands, squeezing Aziraphale’s hand gently. He took a moment to steal himself, to relish the love and patience that Aziraphale was offering him before he spoke again. “I think… I think we can try something else.”

“Okay.” Aziraphale reached up cautiously and placed his hand on Crowley’s arm. Crowley flinched, and he moved to pull away, but Crowley caught his hand and put it back.

“This will keep happening, Aziraphale. We have to work through it. Please don’t pull away.” Crowley’s voice was impossibly tight, Aziraphale could see his throat working to push the words past a lump.

“Okay, my dear. I won’t.” he answered softly. He scooted closer to Crowley until their legs were almost pressed together. Crowley moved his leg so their knees were touching.

Crowley breathed deeply, pushing the air out of his lungs forcefully. He nodded slightly, and Aziraphale moved his hand off his arm and reached up to cup his cheek. He brushed a thumb across Crowley’s cheekbone.

“I know this is incredibly hard for you, Crowley. I’m so sorry that your life has come to this. But I promise, if we work through this, I will make sure to give you all the comfort you could ever want or need. Anytime. I don’t want you to feel like you do not deserve to be comforted when you are hurting.” He whispered, his voice tight. He felt a tear drip down his face. Crowley reached up with his free hand and brushed it away.

“I’m sorry you have to do this, angel…”

“No, Crowley! I am happy to help you. I just wish I could have helped sooner. You are the most important person in my life, and I am so sorry that I have never helped you through anything like this, to the point where you flinch when someone brushes past you.” Aziraphale brushed his hand down Crowley’s jaw, swiping his thumb over the snake tattoo under his ear and causing the demon to shiver.

Crowley breathed out shakily, a tear dripping from his eye.

“Crowley, may I kiss your cheek?” Aziraphale asked quietly. He knew that the question would probably make Crowley feel awkward, but he didn’t want to do anything without getting the demon’s permission first.

Crowley nodded silently.

Aziraphale leaned forward and carefully, softly pressed his lips to the tear that was slipping down Crowley’s cheek. He lingered for a long moment before pulling away. He moved the hand on Crowley’s cheek to the back of the demon’s head, waiting for a flinch, before he pulled Crowley’s face forward and kissed his forehead. He heard Crowley sniff, and before he knew it, Crowley had carefully wrapped his arms around Aziraphale’s waist, burying his face in the angel’s shoulder.

Aziraphale cautiously wrapped his arms around Crowley’s shoulder, feeling his eyes sting when Crowley flinched slightly.

“I love you, Crowley. I need you to know that. I will never hurt you, I promise.” Aziraphale choked out, his voice cracking.

“I know you would never hurt me, Aziraphale. I’ve always known that.” Crowley sniffed, pulling away from the hug and cupping the angel’s cheek. “I love you too.” He gasped, brushing his thumb across Aziraphale’s cheekbone. “I will always love you. Thank you so much, for everything.”

Aziraphale reached up and brushed his hand through Crowley’s fiery hair, giving the demon a watery smile when he didn’t flinch away.

“We’ll make it through this, my dear. I will make sure of it.”

Crowley smiled. He tipped forward and kissed Aziraphale lightly on the forehead. “I know we will, my love.”


End file.
